కొల్లేటిలో పండే పంటకు లెక్కేగాని, చచ్చే దున్నపోతులకు లెక్కలేదు

This expression is used to describe a situation where the income or result from a project is barely enough to cover the basic expenses or survival costs, leaving no room for profit or savings. Historically, farming in the Kolleru lake region was unpredictable due to floods, often yielding just enough to eat.

This proverb is used to describe greed and over-ambition. It warns that trying to consume or possess more than one's capacity or trying to take everything for oneself leads to self-destruction. It is often applied to people who are overly greedy and fail to recognize their own limits.

This proverb describes a situation where an outcome or profit is visible, but the immense cost, hidden sacrifices, or the loss of resources required to achieve it are ignored. It is used to highlight that success often comes at a high, unacknowledged price.

This proverb describes a situation where someone's excessive greed or over-ambition leads to their own downfall. It is used to mock people who attempt tasks far beyond their capacity or who harbor unrealistic desires that eventually lead to their ruin.

This expression is used to describe a person who is unreliable, inconsistent, or avoids responsibility at critical moments. It refers to someone who is missing when the food is served (on the leaf-plate) and also missing when the sacred rituals (offerings to ancestors) are performed, implying they are nowhere to be found when needed or that they belong nowhere.

This proverb is used to describe a negligible loss or a situation where a small deficiency does not significantly affect a large hoard or total. It is often used to dismiss a minor loss when one is in an abundant position, though sometimes it carries a sarcastic tone regarding carelessness towards small assets.

This expression refers to unreliable, fictitious, or manipulated statistics and records. It compares fraudulent bookkeeping or arbitrary reporting to trying to count a flying flock of crows, which is impossible to verify and often based on guesswork or deception.

This expression is used to describe a person who is extremely stubborn or inflexible in their reasoning. It refers to someone who makes an initial calculation or decision and refuses to change it, even when shown to be wrong or when circumstances change. It highlights a lack of logic or a 'one-track' mind.

This proverb is used to describe a person who handles massive, difficult tasks and therefore finds smaller, trivial tasks insignificant or easy to manage. It implies that once someone has mastered a great burden or volume of work, minor additions do not bother them.

This expression is used to describe someone who shows maturity, wisdom, or behaviors far beyond their actual age, often used in the context of a child acting like an adult or being 'precocious'. It can also imply someone who has gained experience or 'ripened' prematurely.